


Kaede

by KureKai_King



Category: Starry Palette (Video Game)
Genre: Comfort, Doubt, Fearful, Fluff, Guilt, Hugs, Kisses, Love, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-05
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-10-04 22:07:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17312714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KureKai_King/pseuds/KureKai_King
Summary: Using your sibling's identity will always either make or break you. For Kureha, it's both. With the success of stirRhythm and pushing his relationship with Kaito to the point of being able to label him as his fiancé, Kureha's troubled and painful past is taking even more of a toll on him, and his future.





	Kaede

**Author's Note:**

> "Sometimes when things are falling apart they may actually fall into place" - ???

Kureha felt it difficult to breathe easy. Watching the sun rise from where he stood on the small balcony of his and Kaito's apartment, the bitter chill in the air nipping at his exposed skin. A sleeveless shirt and boxers certainly weren't the best to wear to watch the break of dawn, but Kureha could care less about his wardrobe choices. His mind was plagued with so much guilt that seemed to shift and weigh down on his shoulders. Whenever something good happened - something that changed his life - he felt that weight bear down on him a smidgen.

He rested his arms on the balcony wall, leaning forward and momentarily glancing downward before bringing his gaze back up to the horizon. He shouldn't be living in the luxury that he did. At first he believed that taking on his late brother's name was the right thing to do; to give his brother the success he had deserved. But now he saw that it wasn't all that simple. Kureha was living a lie, he felt. His name was a lie, his personality was a lie, even his relationship felt like a lie. 

He wasn't Kureha. He was Kaede. 

Despite being dead, Kureha was the one who'd gotten his name in lights, had his dreams come true. Kaede had just been the one to get him there. Kaede was the one who'd worked for the fame and fortune Kureha now had. But, was it Kureha who'd fallen for Kaito, or was that Kaede? Or maybe he should be asking if Kaito had fallen for Kureha or Kaede? His partner and long-time friend knew the truth; that Kaede was his real name and he'd explained what had happened to his brother for him to take his name. Kaito had surprisingly understood. Though he had seemed a tad bit annoyed for being lied to, he looked past it and luckily saw what Kaede had wanted him to see.

He didn't hear Kaito get up or even move toward him until he felt his familiar arms wrap around his waist and pull him back against a strong, hard chest. He forced a tiny smile when he felt the other's lips softly press to his temple, then his cheek, and he then turned his head a little to meet his lips. Warmth spread through him like a wildfire, but it extinguished itself fairly quickly. Kaito noticed.

"What's wrong? Or...are you thinking about your brother again?"

Kaede nodded sadly, twisting in Kaito's embrace and pressing himself against him, breathing in his natural scent as he dipped his head to bury his face in the other's shoulder. "I'm sorry," he whispered, "I-I know it's stupid, what I did...b-but I just-"

"You thought you were doing him good, I know, and I'm sure he knows that too. I'm sure he watches over you every single day and is very proud of you," Kaito felt the redhead tense up a little in his arms and sighed, shifting a hand beneath Kaede's shirt and stroking up and down his back comfortingly. He couldn't hear it, but he knew his partner was crying. It had always been a touchy subject for pretty much the entirety of stirRhythm - family. But they pulled each other through the darker moments.

"K-Kaito...?" Kaede squeaked but not moving to look at him directly like he usually would, "I need you to be honest with me. Did you fall for me or for him?"

Kaito quirked an eyebrow, "What on Earth do you mean? I fell for you, idiot, considering I never had the chance to meet him".

"No, I mean that...wh-what was it about me that made you get the feelings you have?"

"Why does it matter so much? If you really wanna know then it's what I told you before when we first got together; your charm, your kindness, your bright spirit, all that stuff".

Why did it matter so much? Because it wasn't him. That was Kureha. 

"So you fell for Kureha instead of me, that's what I'm getting..." The poor boy still refused to look up or let his arms drop from where they had wrapped themselves around Kaito's chest, "All that stuff is him! Kureha was all the goodness, I wasn't! I could never match up to him, I could never be that selfless and brave! I'm not-"

"Listen!" Kaito's firm tone made him jump, "You know what I really think? I didn't fall in love with Kureha - considering he's dead - and all that  _was_ you. Know why? Because all you've done is take a different name. If that personality you've shown everyone wasn't a part of you to begin with, you wouldn't be able to pull it off as well as you have. Everyone else has their dark moments, even I have, but there's always someone who can chase away the rainclouds and the storms and bring back out the sun. If you weren't that, then how else did you manage to be the glue that holds stirRhythm together?"

"...Kait-to...I...I-"

"I didn't fall for a name, I fell for a person. Yes, your brother may be dead but you're still you and you always have been! You just couldn't see and believe it because you always saw yourself as something less compared to what you thought was great. There's no doubt in my mind that your brother asked for you to be saved first because he knew you had the potential to make it in the world. Perhaps...perhaps he even thought that he was less compared to you..."

Kaede looked up then, lifting his head so his eyes were directly level with his lover's. A silence stood between them as Kaede contemplated Kaito's words. Then his remaining tears shed from his eyes and slipped down his cheeks as his jaw parted and he launched himself that tad bit closer to the other, their lips connecting in a gentle press that had their hearts speeding up at the contact. When they parted, Kaito wore a sincere, soft smile and Kaede gave a breathless laugh.

"I love you Kaito," the redhead whispered as he moved to hang his arms around the other's neck.

Kaito tightened his embrace around Kaede's waist and dipped his head so that their foreheads touched, staring into that sunset gaze he was so dearly fond of, "I love you too...Kaede". 


End file.
